1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates a technique of rendering an information distribution service to provide a user of a mobile information terminal with information such as area information optimum for a predicted location of the user in advance.
2. Description of the Related Art
Up to this time, a service and/or a function based on information on location of the conventional mobile information terminal allow information on the vicinity of the present location (the current location) of the mobile information terminal to be obtained by determining or inputting the present location. That is to say, the information on the vicinity of the present location of the mobile information terminal can be obtained only on condition that the mobile information terminal is currently located at the present location. In addition, there are also cases in which the mobile information terminal is provided with obsolete information no longer required by the user of the mobile information terminal. An example of such information is information about an area already left by the mobile information terminal. Furthermore, there is no means for distributing information to mobile information terminals moving to a specific direction by adoption of a multi-casting or broadcasting technique.
However, the conventional information distribution service has the following problems. If a user carrying a mobile information terminal does not enter information on a destination of the movement of the user to the terminal, the existence of information on the destination of the movement or information on an area on the way in the direction of the movement is not known. In general, only information on the vicinity of the present location of the mobile information terminal can be obtained and distributed information includes obsolete information not required by the user. In addition, the obsolete information not required by the user is displayed in some cases. Furthermore, information on accidents at a destination of a mobile information terminal moving to a specific direction, and disaster or urgent information cannot be transmitted to the mobile information terminal as a notification whereas congestions cannot be controlled either.